Introductions!

In going back over my blog today in an attempt to do some "housekeeping", like tags and such (I'm so BAD at remembering tags) I stumbled across some of my introductory posts back when I first started up here. It wasn't that long ago - but it was long enough for me to sleep since then - so I had totally forgotten that I promised more introductions to the family! Specifically, the four-legged children of our home. ;) Thanks to Mindee over at Our Front Door - I found my old intro posts, an the unfulfilled promise!
So - until I run out of pets, I'll be sharing one of my beloved babies with you. 
Also, if you haven't met the munchings - please take a look, here! We are a large family, full of love, excitement, and frustration... lots of frustration on some days.
But - again, digressing! Without further ado - I shall introduce you to the Matriarch's of the Family - Magi the Cat, and Gracie the Dog

Magi the Cat

Magi is my sweet, loving, thirteen year old cat. I have had her since I broke up with The Guy and moved to North Carolina 13 years ago. She's opinionated, cranky, and very set in her ways. But I love her dearly, she's a sweet baby - and has been my companion through some very trying and dark times of healing and restoration in myself. She was a touchstone when I needed one, and I will miss her so very much when she is gone. 

Magi and Shakespeare, enjoying a nap

She has made friends with my sons cat Shakespeare, and they truly do enjoy their naps in my bed most afternoons. She is a comfortable reminder of how far I've come in my life. 

Gracie the Dog

Gracie, or Miss Grace, Graciegirl, or Piggy as we are wont to call her at times, is the indisputable alpha dog of the house. She bosses everyone around and brooks NO dispute. She is tough and strong and mighty and fierce. Also... she weighs 8 lbs soaking wet and can put a 90-lb. boxer/lab mix on his haunches in 2.2 seconds - no kidding. She is the "mama" of the pack I would say. When inside all dogs bow to Grace. She also runs the children, giving them away when they're doing stuff they're not supposed to. If one of them hits the other - she barks, loudly to tell on the aggressor. She never lies, either! 

She's about 10 years old, and is starting now to show her age - she moves slower these days, and isn't as able to get up on the chair or couch as in days gone by. We love her, however, we know that the life expectancy of small dogs is not as long as cats or big dogs. So our time with her is growing shorter - she may live to as old as 17, but age is not her friend. 

She's a feisty one though, and the first to bark warning when something moves... anything - a leaf, a tree, a dog, a person... her yip seems to say "It's a Thing, It's a Thing, It's a Thing!!! OMG ITS A THING!!

Funny, and annoying, but she keeps us entertained. 

So there you have it - top cat, and top dog! Welcome to our little world, hope you can visit often!

My Heart - My Soul!

This, this beautiful chubby baby? This is my heart....
He is my soul, my life, my inspiration, and my muse!


This, my dear readers, is my precious grandson.
Words cannot express how much I LOVE this boy! 


Here, he is enjoying his first time on a swing... 

It turns out - the swing is much more fun with mommy! 
That's my beautiful daughter there with my boy in her lap! Gosh, how my heart leaps at the image - I miss them so!

His first trip to a real pool!

Again so much more fun with mommy!


I must say, I am so very proud of my beautiful daughter and her husband. They're doing the best than can to raise him... and that's all anyone can ask. They're young, and I'm sure they'll make mistakes along the way - heck don't we all?? But this baby - this baby is loved beyond measure! 

I love you JJ - your grandma's heart breaks with missing you! You are my heart, my soul, my love!!! 

Unplugged

See that...?
<----- Yeah, that... my computer... It stopped working night before last. Oh it worked, in the non-internet related capacity for sure - but otherwise it was a paperweight! Ya'll - we lost our internet in the storms!!! It was horrible! I woke up yesterday morning to find our cable line dangling from a tree precariously close to our car - and yes I was too danged upset to take pictures - also my batteries were dead because I took about 150 million pictures of flowers on the batteries on Saturday - so there was no juice left, and when you're busy trying to keep from being killed while fixing your internet, you just don't have the 15 minutes to spare to charge batteries... so there is no photo of our problem.
But to me it was a HUGE problem... I have two teenagers - who were totally disconnected for two days! Now, don't get me wrong, I feel real bad for all those folks in Mississippi and Alabama, I really do! I mean, I totally do not know what I'd do if I was faced witht he total devastation they have been dealt... it would be mind-blowing for sure.
For me, the storms took on a whole different meaning... they forced me to spend time with my kids... seriously! Since we're a very connected family - three laptops, two desktops, two wireless routers, cable interent, internet telephone, three Xbox game systems and the list goes on - we're techno-advanced around here... unfortunately that makes us totally incapable of interacting without our computers!
We spend hours with our kids playing games on the internet or across the xbox. We have role-play games we play with them via e-mail... and we spend countless amounts of time watching videos, movies or television via the computer and an HDMI cable. We are totally and completely integrated with our computers.
So Sunday was an interesting day around our house... After putting in a call to the cable company about our downed line, we had no clue what else to do.
We played poker, we had a live version of our role-play game, we cooked together, baked a cake, and discussed a lot of stuff. We spent the day listening to "Mom, Dad, What if?" Instead of Mom, Dad "I'm Bored". Not once did we hear the word "bored" and we were even told that they needed a break at one point - too much human interaction!
I love it - we spent the weekend reconnecting with our family and it was nice for a change... I'm thinking of "unplugging" more often!

Stress and stuff

Its started... the stress that comes with moving and packing and clearing out the clutter... 
It is funny how we thought we would buy this house, settle in this town, and stay here forever just two years ago. The house was too full then... and now, 2 years later we have even MORE stuff to deal with. I don't know what we'll do with all the stuff we're getting rid of - I guess we'll have to sell it. There is too much to take with us, it's just not going to be possible. 
Then I worry about our dogs - we have 5 and we love every one of them like family... two of them are huge, three are tiny... finding a rental willing to take on that many dogs isn't going to be an easy task... hopefully something will come up and be right for us. 
I'm worried that I won't find a job, and that I won't be able to get to and from work when and if I do find a job. Now that PJ has changed schools, we have to take her and pick her up every day, so me taking the car and going to look for work isn't going to be possible until the kids are out of school in late May... but that should still give me plenty of time to get the things I need to do around here done, so that maybe, just maybe we can sell our house. 
Of course, if the house doesn't sell, we're going to have to stay here and tough it out anyway, and I'm not sure how that's going to happen. We can't find jobs here, and the unemployment going to stop in a few weeks, and when it does, we're pretty well screwed. 
SIGH.... 
I hate thinking too much - it makes me crazy
For tonight, I think I'll go eat one of these: http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/breads/lucky-four-leaf-clover-rolls/ and forget about it for a while!

Opportunity

Opportunity - 1 : a favorable juncture of circumstances 
2 : a good chance for advancement or progress *Merriman-Webster Dictionary Online

I like that, a good chance for advancement or progress, yes - I really like that. 

In this economy, in this age, we have little opportunity for advancement in our normal course of life. Oh, there are the raises, the perks of our jobs, if we are so lucky as to have jobs. There are the milestones that keep us going, children growing, having birthday's, dates, proms, graduations... those things sustain us... but an Opportunity for true change and the cosmic do-over it implies, does not come often. 

Our family has chosen to make one such opportunity for ourselves. We have decided to pull up the stakes of our comfortably paid for home, in a town with little or no work, to return to the precarious life of renting in a town with at the very least 7% more work than where we currently live. 

7% really doesn't sound like much - but it's a chance we are willing to take. It is a chance for us to start over in a new place, with new surroundings, and with old friends and family for support, and that's what makes the difference. 

Where we live now is drying up, not only economically, but emotionally for us as well. Everyone who supported us here, everyone we were truly 'friends' with were related to the job I formerly held. Those tenuous friendships have held, but barely, through the ensuing ten months since I left the company. I connected with the mother of my daughters friends, and at one time we were inseparable, but our kids don't see eye-to-eye anymore... and our parenting styles seem to be so different now that the girls are older... that it's just not as close as it once was. 

We are truly ready to accept this challenge, and move to the next stage of life in these challenging times. We will hope for the best, and work to meet the challenge with open hearts and open minds! 

Family Vacation 2010

We just spent four wonderful days in the mountains of Tennessee at my sister-in-laws house. It was a totally relaxing weekend, and something this family needed. All of us felt so much better after we got home. 

We awoke every morning to this view: 

We drank coffee on the deck overlooking this view every morning... it's fabulously beautiful, peaceful, and so very relaxing!

The tree in this photo is so large that it would take at least four grown men to put arms around it and touch fingers.  
It has to be over 200 years old - its a white oak and it is phenomenal!

These flowers are growing in the front yard. So pretty!!! 


The kids got along well for a change - they actually smiled!!!

We all managed to work out some communication issues that have been going on, and everyone actually enjoyed themselves. Even when were cooped up in the house together and not going anywhere. 


Of course there was me: 

The Constant Chronicler of Family Events


THIS is how I spent the weekend! Heeheee... Lots of neat photos of the tree: 

This is just one of the primary branches - we have trees in our yard that's trunks are smaller! Amazing!

A view looking up through the branches of the monster oak tree!


All in all it was a wonderful time, and something we won't soon forget - in fact, it's something we plan to take advantage of as often as possible! Something big is coming for our family - something that's going to make a huge difference for us! Look for the exciting news soon!

100 things about me

In true blog tradition, the 100 things about me post!

• I was born in 1966
• My father died in 1978
• He died three days after my birthday
• I have never gotten over his death
• I probably never will
• I have been best friends with the same person since 1972
• We once went almost 8 years without talking
• We immediately picked up where we left off after the drought
• I was born and raised in Fort Myers, Florida
• My father owned a sailboat named the Questover
• My mother gave the boat to my uncle when my dad died
• My uncle sailed that boat on the Gulf of Mexico
• My grandmother died when I was 19 - on her birthday
• My grandfather died when I was 22
• Both of my grandparents died in conjunction with the birth of one of my children
• My cousin had a baby one week to the hour after I did
• My youngest daughter got married at the same age I did the first time
• I have been married three times
• I have been divorced three times
• I do not know if I will every marry again
• If I do marry it will be to the man I now live with
• Four of my children are not "my" children, but his
• We are currently surviving on unemployment
• One of my children is severely emotionally disabled and is currently in the hospital
• I do not feel guilty about admitting him to the hospital - he needed the help
• It is not easy to deal with children with and SED
• Most parents have not clue how to handle emotional problems in their children and this bothers me
• I always wanted to "make a difference" in peoples lives
• I had children - that makes a difference
• My grandson is easily my favorite thing in the world
• I appreciate my daughter's in-laws more than words can express
• My 16 year old stepdaughter is making my hair turn gray
• My 15 year old stepson is making my face wrinkle
• My 22 year old son is making my ulcer bleed
• I want my mommy
• I have not seen my mother in over a year
• I don't call my mother enough
• I have not seen my grandmother (my dad's mom) in 22 years
• I don't know if I will before she dies
• I have not seen my elderly aunt in five years, although I speak with her regularly
• I do not talk to my aunt as often now that ER is no longer on the air
• I have five dogs
• I have three cats
• I don't need any more animals, or children
• I could no more part with one of my pets, than I could one of my children
• I design and create custom jewelery in my "spare" time
• I have nothing but spare time
• I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in February of 2008
• I was fired from my job in June of 2009 - related directly to my attendance because of my illness
• I love to write
• I want to write a book one day - but I don't know what to write about
• My daughter tells me I should write a book about talking to teenage girls
• Apparently my daughter thinks I do this well 
• I am scared of losing everything in the economic crisis
• I may or may not support healthcare reform
• I support the reform of programs for Children's Mental Health
• I was one half of an exceptionally abusive relationship for 9 years
• I am a recovering addict (10 years clean)!
• I do not discuss my addiction with anyone
• I have demons under my bed, and skeletons in my closet
• My third husband was an alcoholic and a meth addict
• I didn't know these things until after I married him
• We did not live together before marriage...
• I am a Christian
• I do not go to church often enough
• Occasionally my language is more colorful than it should be
• I procrastinate
• I want to move back to Florida, and cannot convince anyone in my family to go with me
• I do not want to leave my family to go "home"
• I would settle for moving to North Carolina to be close to my mother
• I have trigger finger tendinitis in my left hand making it impossible for me to flip anyone off with that hand
• I like flipping people off - this couples with #66 above
• I was raised in church
• I was a teenage mother
• My oldest daughter was born two short weeks before I turned 18
• I married the first idiot that asked me
• My first husband was a drug addict
• We were married only six months
• I almost died of double pneumonia
• I married my son's father in 1987
• We were married for six years
• My youngest daughters father died when she was nine
• He took her from me and hid when she was seven
• I did not see or speak to my daughter for 11 years
• She found me when she was 18
• I have never been happier at an event in my life
• I miss my kids who live far away
• My daughters live in Florida - which is an even better reason for me to return there
• I want to be close to my grandson
• My son is getting ready to FINALLY go to college - at 22
• My oldest daughter has been with the same boy since her sophomore year in high school
• They are not married - and have no children
• I have a mean streak a mile wide
• I have a quick temper - and a very short fuse
• I get over it quickly
• I yell... a LOT
• I don't cry often - but when I do... its a gully washer
• I want my children to have an easier life than I did
• I don't know that my youngest daughter will ever have that - and it makes me sad
• My family is my life - and I love them dearly